1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to compact portable extractors for cleaning small carpeted areas, stairs, furniture, spots, upholstery, and spills on bare floors. More particularly, this invention pertains to a compact portable extractor having permanent, non-removable solution and recovery tanks, a fill port for filling the solution tank and a pour spout for facilitating emptying of the recovery tank and facilitating the overall operation of the extractor.
2. Related Prior Art
Most prior art extractors contain separate cleaning solution tanks or bottles, and/or separate recovery tanks that must be awkwardly and delicately removed from the extractor to be filled and discharged as required. In performing these operations with the prior art extractors, the user has to be extremely cautious not to spill the contents of these removable bottles and/or tanks upon the carpet or the extractor itself. With many of the prior art extractors it is even necessary to remove the entire powerhead in order to remove the recovery tank, or to remove a cleaning solution bottle or tank.
Many prior art extractors include a removable cleaning solution bottle having a special cap for connecting the bottle to a cleaning solution tube in the extractor. Connection of the cleaning solution tube to the cap is frequently very cumbersome, due to a relatively short length of the tubing extending from the extractor. This short length of tubing must be attached to the cap, while the cap is mounted on a filled cleaning solution bottle, by holding the bottle with one hand, while attempting to insert the fingers of the other hand between the bottle and the extractor to connect the short length of tubing extending from the extractor to the cap on the bottle.
The present invention overcomes the above cited disadvantages of the prior art extractors by providing a portable compact extractor having permanent solution and recovery tanks integrally formed in a single main tank portion, with a removable power head attached to and enclosing the top of the main tank portion. A fill port passes through the powerhead into the cleaning solution tank and a pour spout is formed in the recovery tank. With this construction, the cleaning solution tank may be filled with water and, if desired, detergent, by pouring the water and detergent into the fill port in the power head, and the recovery tank may be emptied as desired simply by tipping the unit and pouring the contents of the recovery tank out the pour spout and down the drain. All without ever having to remove any tanks, bottles or the power head from the unit, or disconnect and reconnect any tubing. A carry handle is located on the power head to facilitate transportation of the unit, facilitate removal of the power head from the main tank for cleaning the tanks when desired, and facilitate pouring the contents of the recovery tank out of the pour spout.